Weather Matters

Category: Weather studies

What goes up must come down — at least when it comes to this week’s topsy-turvy weather forecast.

Tuesday’s high is expected to be in the 80s, followed by a cold blast with gusty winds on Thursday morning. It may feel like it’s in the 30s — even in Palm Beach, according to National Weather Service forecasters.

In interior locations, wind chills will be in the 20s, they said.

Thursday and Friday forecast lows in Palm Beach are 47; 44 in West Palm Beach and 42 in Wellington. Cold northwest winds may gust up to 29 mph. The [More]

Temperatures east of the Mississippi may remain below normal through mid-February. (Credit: NOAA/ CPC)

January is going out on a cool note in Palm Beach and it looks like February could pick up where the first month of the new year left off.

With the exception of Monday and possibly Thursday, a series of cold fronts are expected to keep daytime highs a bit below normal, although overnight lows won’t be as cool as they have been the last week of January, National Weather Service forecasters said.

Nevertheless, the first half of February is forecast to feature below normal temperatures throughout the Florida [More]

The start of the 2015 hurricane season is 100 days away. In the depths of mid-winter, the last thing on the minds of most Florida residents is hurricane preparation.

but it’s getting lots of attention by the staff at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. They released another video today about the dangers of storm surge, which they said is “often the greatest threat to life and property from a tropical cyclone, yet many people do not understand the term or the danger it poses.”

But how do you get the public’s attention on this topic in January? Have an artist draw [More]

Cold fronts so far this winter have been relatively mild, driving temperatures down to normal levels or slightly below normal. But a front forecast to arrive next weekend could bring the coolest temperatures since mid-December.

Through Jan. 17 the month has averaged 6.9 degrees above normal, with an average high temperature of 78.9 degrees and an average low of 65.9. That average low of almost 66 degrees is 9 degrees above normal.

But the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center in its long-range forecast issued Saturday called for below normal temperatures the last week of the month.

Early morning showers dropped 0.09 of an inch of rain at Palm Beach International Airport, and forecasters said more may be on the way to close out 2014 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

That brings the monthly total to 1.47 inches, still 1.69 inches below normal. The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center issued a graphical forecast today showing just under a half-inch of rain falling around the Palm Beach area through next Monday.

A high surf advisory and a small craft advisory were issued by the National Weather Service. (Credit: NWS-Miami)

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: The low this morning was 50 at Palm Beach Interntional Airport and in Palm Beach, and Thursday morning temperatures could be a few degrees colder, forecasters said. lows tonight/ Thursday morning will be 48 in Palm Beach; 44 in West Palm Beach; 43 in Wellington; and 40 in Belle Glade. Highs are expected to be only in the 60s in Palm Beach through Saturday — Sunday’s projected high is 71. Winds are expected to calm tonight, but a high surf advisory [More]

Hurricane Gonzalo as seen from the International Space Station on Oct. 16. (Credit: NASA)

It was a ho-hum hurricane season with very little drama for those in the mainland U.S. But it turned out to be a near-perfect year for researchers who were able to analyze storms that muscled up into major hurricanes while they remained safely off the U.S. Coast.

A key goal as they flew the WB-57 HS3 missions was to better understand what makes a storm spin up, and what makes it strengthen. They investigated Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard and Gonzalo on manned aircraft and flew remotely piloted planes into [More]

National Weather Service forecasters are painting a picture of a more wintry mid-week, with lows in the 50s west of Palm Beach and north winds gusting near 30 mph.

On top of that, gray skies are expected to roll in on Monday along with a chance of rain, and the messy weather should stick around through Wednesday, when the high struggles to hit 70, according to the NWS forecast.

On the island, the forecast low is 61 on Wednesday morning, with winds gust to 28 mph. But the forecast low [More]

A new interactive storm surge inundation map is available for coastal residents to assess their risk during a tropical storm or hurricane. It shows possible scenarios for Palm Beach, other barrier islands and even some areas of the mainland.

The map reveals the more general nature of storm surge risk, rather than the storm-specific forecast maps that the National Hurricane Center began issuing this season.

“Understand that every storm is different,” said James Brinkley, storm surge operations manager for the NHC. “They all have different [More]